Oil Markets

Aside from a handful of high-profile deals, merger and acquisition activity in the US oil and gas sector has been tepid in recent months even as war in the Middle East pushed oil prices to multi-year highs. In this episode, S&P Global Energy's  Christopher van Moessner , editor, oil futures, is joined by Americas news editor Ashok Dutta and senior reporter Eamonn Brennan to discuss the outlook for...

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz following escalating tensions in the Middle East sent European fuel oil imports from the Gulf plummeting 95% in the first half of 2026. Supply chains faced unprecedented disruption while risk premiums skyrocketed across the bunker market. In this episode, S&P Global Energy's Emma Kettley, associate director, price reporting, is joined by reporters Jose...

Asia's energy security has always rested on a difficult bargain -- deep reliance on Middle Eastern crude in exchange for scale, proximity and established commercial relationships. The recent conflict tested that bargain in real time, forcing refiners, traders and governments to reroute supply, reassess risk and confront the true cost of dependence. As risk premiums fade and markets move from crisi...

As summer travel is getting into its stride, European supply chains for diesel and gasoline are geared to meet the seasonal uptick in road fuel demand. However, with production operating near capacity, demand may outpace available supply, possibly altering consumption patterns and prompting end-users to switch to alternative modes of transport. In this episode, Gary Clark, Friedrich Gutsche, Sophi...

With Strait of Hormuz constraints reshaping global supply routes, Latin America is stepping into the spotlight. In this episode, Jeff Mower , Kate Winston , Sheky Espejo and Charles Newbery unpack how producers across the region are positioned for upstream expansion. What are producers learning from Argentina's drive to boost Vaca Muerta oil output and exports? What does Colombia's upcoming electi...

The global crude oil market continues to see disrupted exports from the Middle East. Yet, with soft Asian demand and the release of strategic reserves around the world, Europe now finds itself struggling to place excess crude oil barrels ahead of peak summer demand.   To examine the latest development in European crude oil balances, S&P Global Energy's Gary Clark, associate director, is joined by...

The disruption to flows through the Strait of Hormuz is rapidly reshaping the Asian jet fuel market at a critical juncture, just as seasonal demand accelerates ahead of the peak summer travel period. As one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, the Strait has long facilitated the movement of significant volumes of Middle Eastern jet fuel. The loss of these flows is now forcing market p...

European and Asian LPG fundamentals have sharply diverged following the disruption to flows through the Strait of Hormuz in late February and early March. The supply shock sent Asian propane prices sharply higher, tightened availability, and disrupted petrochemical demand. Meanwhile, the European market, especially the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub, has remained comparatively well supplied and u...

US crude exports have hit record high in April as buyers looked far afield to replace barrels that have been blocked by the Middle East war and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The surge in demand has been a boon for US suppliers, and there has been a scramble to overcome infrastructure constraints in order to push exports even higher. With Persian Gulf supply unlikely to return at p...

India's crude imports are climbing, not just in volume, but in complexity. As the country widens its pool of suppliers, it is also exposing itself to a more fragmented pricing landscape. But here is the challenge -- in a world where geopolitical conflicts and supply shocks can send prices soaring overnight, how do you protect the energy sector and the economy from extreme volatility? In this bonus...

With more than two months having passed since the beginning of the war in the Middle East, a conflict that has tightened refined oil product flows through the Strait of Hormuz, market participants have been grappling with major upheaval in middle distillate trade routes as Europe seeks to replace lost Middle East supply. To examine the latest trends in this vital segment, S&P Global Energy's Emma...

In this episode of the  Oil Markets Podcast from S&P Global Energy , host  Jeff Mower  dives into first-quarter earnings from major oil and gas service companies, including SLB, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton. Joined by S&P Global editors  Binish Azhar ,  Sheky Espejo , and  J. Robinson , the panel explores the sector's strategic pivot toward energy infrastructure and generation amid geopolitical u...

The conflict in the Middle East has sent ripples across the global energy landscape, with the spotlight on the Strait of Hormuz -- the critical artery for Asia-Pacific's energy imports. Amid trade flow disruptions, the path to recovery, the resilience of physical oil markets, and the broader economic consequences are under intense scrutiny. While the return to normalcy, the evolving dynamics of oi...

Dated Brent's record high assessment by Platts of $144.42/barrel stole the headlines on April 7, but physical market fundamentals in the Atlantic basin have similarly brought cash differentials for individual crude oil grades across the North Sea, West Africa and the Mediterranean upwards to levels that, in some cases, have never been seen before. In this episode, Associate Director Emma Kettley i...

As traffic inches back through the Strait of Hormuz, oil and product flows remain constrained, sending buyers scrambling to replace Middle East barrels and lock in reliable diesel supply. With nearly 6 million b/d of Middle East refining capacity at stake, and roughly 4 million b/d of refined products flows, diesel prices have soared, opening export opportunities. Where are buyers turning for dies...

As the conflict in the Middle East has raised the specter of global fuel shortages, Nigeria's new Dangote refinery has attracted growing attention as an alternative supplier. After starting up in 2024, the refinery reached its initial 650,000 b/d capacity for the first time earlier in 2026 and has seen a growing demand for its products from markets further afield. In this podcast, Gary Clark, asso...

From CERAWEEK 2026 in Houston, host Jeff Mower , Director of Americas Oil News, is joined by Senior Upstream Editor  Ashok Dutta , oil news editor  Binish Azhar , and oil policy reporter Eamonn Brennan to break down the conference's energy security focus. With the Strait of Hormuz largely closed and the Trump administration negotiating with Tehran while signaling it wants to cap oil price spikes,...

Tensions between US-Israel and Iran are disrupting flows in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing Asia's LPG market to manage surging prices and shifting optimization to urgent supply management. With Middle East shipments threatened, especially for India and China facing low inventories and weak PDH margins, buyers are scrambling for alternative supplies and shipping. The Platts Oil Markets Podcast cover...

Benchmark jet fuel assessments by Platts have reached all-time highs on the back of war in the Middle East. With vital middle distillate supplies locked in the Persian Gulf owing to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the knock-on impact for both physical and financial refined products markets in Europe has been unprecedented. In this episode of the Platts Oil Markets podcast, Gary Clar...

After US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, oil markets have been on a rollercoaster. While crude has rallied above $100/b, refined fuels have surged even more sharply. In this episode of the Oil Markets Podcast, host  Jeff Mower , Director of Americas Oil News, is joined by Senior Refining Editor Janet McGurty and Senior Refined Products Price Reporters Ben Peyto...

US and Israeli strikes on Iran since Feb. 28 have led to a major regional conflict, which has rocked geopolitics and resonated across the global oil supply chain. Vessel transits across the vital Strait of Hormuz have been stunted, while physical and financial oil markets have seen a major uptick in volatility. In this episode of the Platts Oil Markets podcast,  Herman Wang is joined by Lauren Hol...

The outlook for Russian and Venezuelan crude flows, as well as geopolitical developments in Iran, are keeping Asian refiners on edge. Indian refineries have valued heavy Venezuelan crudes in their mix in the past, but will be looking out for signals of stable oil flows from the country. Meanwhile, the country's imports of Russian crude have decreased as sanctions have intensified. In this episode...

Geopolitics and its impact on pricing and trade flows were the talk of the town as oil market participants convened in the cobbled streets of London across Feb. 9-13 for International Energy Week, one of the most important events in the industry's calendar. Following a blockbuster 2026 edition, S&P Global Energy's John Morley , global director of crude and fuel oil markets, sits down with Associat...

In this episode of the Oil Markets Podcast by S&P Global Energy, host Jeff Mower , Director of Americas Oil News, is joined by Senior Refining Editor Janet McGurty and Senior Upstream Editor Ashok Dutta to break down the biggest takeaways from fourth-quarter oil earnings so far. How are Gulf Coast refiners positioning for a potential return of Venezuelan heavy crude — and what does it mean for hea...

Europe's dependence on imported middle distillates is in sharper focus after the EU's 18th sanctions package halted imports of refined products processed from Russian crude from Jan. 21. Europe is leaning more heavily on replacement supply from the Middle East and the US—driving fresh volatility in diesel and jet fuel differentials even as underlying fundamentals remain mixed. Join Gary Clark, Aru...